MSC joins Carnival, Princess, Norwegian in extending cruise suspension into summer
The world’s fastest growing cruise line is delaying the date for restarting sailings into summer.
MSC announced Wednesday it plans to resume cruising July 10. Previously it had halted all new cruises until May 29. Affected guests receive a 125% credit for a future cruise to be taken before Dec. 31, 2021.
Many major cruise companies have now halted cruises into the typically busy summer season due to the coronavirus. All major cruise companies agreed to suspend new cruises on March 13 for at least 30 days in response to the pandemic, following a March 8 CDC warning against cruising because of the increased risk of coronavirus infection on ships. On March 30, cruise companies canceled cruises into May.
The three major cruise holding companies — Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings — are based in Miami. MSC USA, the U.S. subsidiary of the Geneva-based line, is located in Fort Lauderdale.
On April 9, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new “no-sail” order that will stay in effect through July 24, or until the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over. The order also requires companies to tell the CDC how they sanitize ships, report the number of COVID-19 cases daily, test for COVID-19, staff ships with enough doctors and equipment, privately transport critically ill people and repatriate nonessential workers.
Cruise lines have announced the following schedule for suspensions:
▪ Azamara Club Cruises: Through June 10.
▪ Carnival Cruise Line: Through June 26.
▪ Celebrity Cruises: Through June 10.
▪ Holland America Line: Through June 30.
▪ Norwegian Cruise Line: Through June 30.
▪ Oceania Cruises: Through June 30
▪ P&O Cruises: Through June 30
▪ Princess Cruises: Through June 30
▪ Regent Seven Seas Cruises: Through June 30
▪ Royal Caribbean Cruise Line: Through June 10
▪ Seabourn: Through June 30
▪ Silversea: Through June 12
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 7:54 AM.
